Room cooler



May 26, 1936.

J. ASKIN RooM COOLER Filed Oct. 51, 1954 2 Sheets-sheaf. 2

Patented May 26, 1936 2,042,420 BOOM COOLER Joseph Askin, Buffalo, N. Y., assignor to Fedders Manufacturing Company, Inc., Buffalo, N. Y.

Application October 31, 1934, Serial No. 150,831

10 Claims.

This invention relates to heat exchange apparatus of the type generally known as unit coolers or forced draft coolers, and it has particular reference to a cooling unit including :3.

cooling coil and a fan for circulating air through the cooling coil, with which is associated means for regulating or controlling the humidity of the circulated air.

Unit coolers find application in auditoriums,

large storage rooms, or walk-in boxes, in which refrigeration is desired, but which do not admit of an elaborate installation of more or less permanent machinery. According to the plan of the cooler which forms the subject matter of this 5 invention, it is proposed to devise a compact unitary apparatus, which may be mounted as desired in the room to be cooled, and to include in such apparatus a refrigerating coil, and a fan, and also to provide means on the coil to regulate "the 20 humidity of the circulated air.

To this end, the invention, in one aspect, takes the form of a casing or cabinet which is roughly divided into a cooling compartment and a fan or motor compartment,the arrangement being 25 such that room air is drawn into the fan compartment and is forced through the coil compartment and thence back into the room. In passing through the coil, the air is diverted in a suitable fashion so as to create the path of cir- 30 culation best suited for the intended purposes. Moreover, the cooling coil is provided with fins which serve to increase the cooling effect, and which are also formed with a multiplicity of pockets, so disposed as to retain varying amounts of 35 condensed moisture. This condensate is held, up to a certain value, in the pockets formed on the fins, where it is accessible for re-evaporation and return to the air when conditions require. With this invention, appreciable excesses 40 of moisture are removed from the treated air, but complete dehydration is not eifected, and

hence a suitable and more or less automatic control of the humidity is obtained.

.I'he invention further contemplates various 5 other improvements in unit coolers, the nature of which need not be elaborated upon here, since they are pointed out in the following description and claims. A typical embodiment of the invention is illustrated in the accompanying 50 drawings, inwhich;

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a unit cooler embodying the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a rear elevation, with the fan and motor removed, and certain parts broken away 55 to illustrate details of construction;

Fig. 3 is a section on the line 3-3 of Fig.2;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary section on an enlarged scale, through the cooling element, showing particularly the pocket formation of the fins and tubes; and,

Fig. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary front elevation of the fins and tubes.

As shown in Fig. 1, the apparatus comprises a cabinet or casing 10, having continuous side, top, and bottom walls and a front wall II which 10 is substantially open, to reveal a cooling coil, generally designated by the numeral l2. The front wall II is advantageously disposed at an angle, and the cooling coil, as will be made clear hereinafter, is also set at an angle which may be equal to, or more or less than, the slope of the front wall. By this construction, cooled air, which is discharged through the front wall, is diverted upwardly, thus chilling any warm air in the room, and creating a circulatory path entering the cooler through its rear wall. By directing the cold air towards the ceiling, a maximum circulatory efiect 'for the velocity of the draft may be effected.

The cabinet l0 may be mounted in the room by any suitable means, such, for example, as the brackets [3 which suspend the unit from the ceiling. Other mounting arrangements may be provided, as the immediate situation may warrant.

Referring now to Fig. 3, it will be observed that. the cabinet in is divided into two major compartments l4 and i5 by a vertical wall or partition l6. These two compartments will be termed the fan or motor compartment, and the cooling compartment, respectively. It will also be observed that the rear portion of the cabinet I0 and the major portion of the front wall II are open, and, by referring to Fig. 2,- it will be seen that the central part of the dividing wall I6 is also open, thereby providing a horizontal passage for the circulation of air from the room, through the fan compartment, into the cooling compartment, and thence back into the room.

Thefan compartment I4 is provided on opposite side walls with brackets H, from which de-' pends an electric motor l8, driven by any suitable source of current, not shown. To the shaft of the motor I8 is secured a fan l9, which projects forward into the aperture of the vertical 5o wall l6. As shown in Figs. 2 and 3, the wall l6 may be formed from a sheet of metal to provide an annular rim or shroud 2| for the blades of the fan, so that the circulated air is properly directed through the cabinet III. The ends of 45 modities stored therebeneath.

the'wall II are bent over'or flanged, to form edges adapted to receive bolts 23 and 23, by means of which the wall is secured to thecabinet.

The cooling unit II, which is mounted in the cooling compartment 15, comprisesa pair of opposed and spaced frames -25. and '26,"between which extend a plurality of interconnected secwithdrawal of a refrigerant or cooling medium through the unit. The apparatus herein described is assumed to be employed with a volatile liquid re igerant which is delivered from a compressorondenser system (not shown), to an expansion valve 32, thence'into the connecting pipe. 29 and through the cooling unit,the connecting pipe 3| providing for the return of expanded refrigerant to. the compressor; As is usual in 25 such systems, the expansion valve operation may be controlled thermostatically, bymeans of an expansion bulb 33, connected to the return line 3|, and serving tocontrol the valve. 32. s a In connection with this brief description of the refrigerant system preferred in connection with the present invention, attention is invited to the trough or apron 34, which is disposed under the expansion valve 32 and the return line 3| in the fan compartment. This trough is welded or otherwise secured to the wall it, and projects therethrough, to spill any liquid entrapped there-,- in into the lower part of the cooling compart ment. The provision of such apron is advantageous, since one of the purposes of the present invention is to provide ,a controlled and limited dehydrationof the room air, in the event it becomes .too moist. Under certain operating con ditions, .excess moisture condenses on the refrigerant return line, and would, unless removed, I

drip hack into the room and possibly on com- Reverting now to the construction of the cooling unit II, it will be observed in, Figs. 4 and 5 that the horizontal tubes 31 are provided with fins 36 whiehare disposed longitudinally of the tubes. The fins 36 are of generally undulatory contour, being formed. with alternate crests and troughs 31 and 33, and the trough portions are formed with cylindrical saddle portions 39 which partially embrace the tubes 31. 'By referring to Fig. 4, it will now be noticed that when the tube. bank. isdisposed at an angle to thevertical, the forward edges, side walls, andsaddle portions of the fins define small pockets II, which serve to retain a part of the moisture which may con dense from time to time on the cooling .unit, as the temperature of wet warm, air is reduced. In the absence of such pockets, all condensate would run oil. the fins and tubes, to the lower part of the cooling compartment 15; whereas, by providing such p'ockets, only the excess of the condensate is so removed-the balance which is caught in smallquantities, and in the air path, where it I until a condition would be reached where the air 7.0

the large number of pockets being retained in may be re-evaporatedwhen conditions require. ,In, order'to mount the coolingunit l2. ata desired angle to the vertical, the upperand lower. edges of the end frames 35 and 33 are bent over to provide inwardly projecting flanges and 33 respectively. The upper flange is formed with of the cooling unit also .is disposed at the bottom of the cabinet.

a slot 45, throughwhich passes a bolt 33, pro- Jecting to the exterior of the cabinet III, to receive a wing n'utjll. The lower'fiange I3 .is provided at its rear edge with a rolled portion forming a bearing for a hinge pintle 43 which 5 is connected to a plate 3l, -secured to the lower wall of the cabinet. It will be understood that the cooling unit I! may thus be swung back and forth on the pintles 43, to the extent provided by the length of the slot 35, andmay be held at any desired angle to the vertical bytightening the. wing nuts 41.

This adJustable mountingof the cooling unit provides for adequate flexibility in varying the amount of moisture which may be retained in the pockets 4.! of the radiating fins 33. Thus, it will. be observed that the amount of moisture to be retained may be estimated for some mean or average condition, and suchcondition a'pproximately cared for by suitable design and dimensioning of the fins themselves. Desired variations from this mean may be effected by changing'the inclination of theunit, since, if the unit is vertical, with the type of fins herein described,

the capacity of the pockets is practically'nothing.

Withsuch a setting, the cooling unit would act is increased, and hence the unit does not dehydrate the air below a desired value. It will also be noticed that the variation oi the inclination serves to vary the direction of the air path. 1

It has not been foundnecessary to provide special forms of pipe connections for the refrigerant-lines 23 and 3|; when the hinge connection The actual movement of the cooling unit at this point is very slight, and the-inherent flexibility of'the -40 tubes is sumcient to compensate for 'such linear movement as may take-place.

A catch basin 33 isdisposed; at thebottom of the compartment 13, to receive any excua-condensate} and also moisture dripping from the open end of thetroughil. .This basin is con--' nected to a drain by means of a connecting pipe i 54, passing through the bottom wall of the cabinet l3. As cold water, collecting in the basin 33,

. might cause some sweating" and dripping from so the exterior of the cabinet, during periods of dehydration, thebasin is insulated by a pad 35,- interposed between the cabinet wall and the basin and partition wall I 3, so that undue-heat transfer between these parts cannot be effected.

In operation, it will be assumed that the cabinet is suitably mounted in a room to be cooled,

and the cooling unit is connected to a refrigerant compressor, while the motor is driven to-rotate the fan l3 and ,thus circulate the room through the cooling compartment. As the relatively warm air strikes therefrigerant tubes with their attached fins, its temperature-is reduced,- and excess moisture, for that temperature, condenses on the fins. A part of;- this moisture drains to the bottom of the cooling compartment, and is removed through the pipe 34. The balance of the condensate is retained in the pockets I. This circulation and cooling of the warm air continues,

had been cooled to the desired temperature, and partially dehydrated, but notfully dehydrated;

:If the room air should now be changed." asby opening the room and introducingmore warm other hand, the temperature of the room should be increased, as frequently happens in service, the circulated air would take up the necessary amount of moisture from the condensate held on the large surface of the fins, rather than extract moisture from some commodity in the room. The extent to which this moisture is available is dependent, of course, on the-actual size and proportions of the unit, and also the inclination at which the cooling element 12 is set. I

It will be understood that while the invention has been described with reference to a single embodiment, it is not intended that it should be so limited, but it is desired to encompass all other embodiments or modifications which fall within the scope of the following claims.

I claim:

l. A heat exchange device comprising a cabinet having a passage therethrough and being adapted to be mounted with said passage arranged horizontally, a partition within the cabinet dividing the passage therein into a fancompartment and a cooling compartment, said cool-' ing compartment of the cabinet being formed with an end face extending upwardly at an angle to the vertical, a tank mounted at the bottom of the cabinet in the cooling compartment thereof, a cooling unit comprising a pair of spaced frame members arranged parallel to said end face and secured at their top ends to the cabinet and rest ing in said tank at their lower ends, a plurality of tube coils mounted between said frames and each having fin members mounted thereon at right angles to the frames, a motor driven fan in the fan compartment and means secured to the cabinet for mounting said fan coaxially with said cabinet passage, said partition having an enlarged opening for receiving and directing the air stream from the fan to the cooling unit.

2. Aheat exchange device comprising a cabinet having a passage therethrough and being adapted to be mounted with the passage arranged horizontally, a partition disposed transversely in the cabinet and dividing the passage therein into a fan compartment and a cooling compartment, said cabinet at the bottom of the cooling compartment therein cooperating to form a tank, a cooling unit mounted transversely in the cooling compartment and resting in said tank, and a motor driven fan in said fan compartment,

said partition having an enlarged opening for receiving and directing the air stream from the fan to the cooling unit.

3. A heat exchange device comprising a cabi-.

net having a passage therethrough and being adapted to be mounted with the passage arranged horizontally, a partition disposed transversely in the cabinet and dividing the passage therein into a fan compartment and a cooling compartment, said cabinet at the bottom of the cooling compartment therein cooperating to form a tank, a cooling unit mounted transversely in.

the cooling compartment and disposed to permit drainage of condensate therefrom into said tank, a control valve disposed in said fan compartment and communicating with said cooling unit, an apron in the fan compartment secured to the partition and extending therethrough, said apron being disposed beneath said valve to receive condensate therefrom for direction to the tank, and a motor driven fan in said fan compartment, said partition having an enlarged opening for receiving and directing the air stream from the fan to the cooling unit. I

4. A heat exchange device comprising a cam-- net adapted to be mounted in a room to be cooled,

said cabinet having a front-wall inclined to the 5 vertical and a horizontal passage extending through said cabinet and wall, a partition in said cabinet dividing the same into a fan compartment and a cooling compartment, a fan mounted in said fan compartmenu'a cooling coil mounted in said cooling compartment, said cooling coil being provided with frame members to hold said coils in unitary relationship, said coil being hing-' edly connected to one wall of said cabinet and being releasably secured to an opposite wall of the cabinet, whereby the inclination of said coil to the vertical is adjustable and the circulation of air in said room may be varied.-

5. A heat exchange device comprising a cabinet adapted to be mounted in a room, said cabinet having a front wall inclined to the vertical and a horizontal passage extending through said cabinet and wall, a partition in said cabinetdividing the same into a fan compartment and a cooling compartment, a cooling coil mounted in said cooling compartment, said coil being provided with a frame for holding the coil in unitary relationship, the ends of said coil being disposed adjacent an end of said frame, said coil ends terminating in conduits extending from said cabinet,

for said coil and frame discabinet and frame adjacent a hinge connection posed between the said coil ends, and a releasable connection for said frame disposed at a remote point in said cabinet, whereby said cabinet is mounted for adjustable tilting movement and said coil ends have substahtially no movement throughout the-range of adjustment.

6. In combination with a cabinet divided into a fan compartment and a cooling compartment 40 and having a horizontal passage therethrough,

a fan mounted in said fan compartment to effect the circulation of air through the cabinet, a cooling coil mounted in the cooling compartment to cool the air so circulated, said cooling coil 5 comprising a plurality of interconnected lengths of tubing, fins disposed on said lengths to effect the rapid interchange of heat between the air and said fins and tubes and to receive moisture condensed from the air as its temperature is so reduced, said fins being formed with drainage portions and pocket portions, said drainage portions being inclined to direct moisture condensing thereon to the bottom of said cabinet, said pocket portions retaining moisture condensing thereon, and a catch basin disposed at the bottom of said cooling compartment to receive draining condensate.

'7. A room cooler comprising an open front and back, a partition in said cabinet dividing the same into a fan compartment a cabinet having and a cooling compartment, a fan mounted in cabinet. below said cooling unit to receive excess moisture condensing on said cooling unit and draining therefrom.

; formed with passages therethrough and being 8. A heat exchange apparatus for cooling and said undulated fins lie below said saddle portions, conditioning air in a room comprising a cabinet said tubes and fins being inclined at an angle to the horizontal in said frame to provide a pluadapted to be mounted in a room with said pasrality of moisture receiving pockets, whereby sages arranged horizontally, said cabinet being portions of excess moisture condensing on said divided into afan compartment and a cooling and fins and in said pockets will be retained therein conditioning compartment, 9. fan in said fan for evaporation when the conditioned air reaches compartment for circulating air in said room a condition of moisture deficiency. through, said cabinetand said cooling and con- 10. A heat exchange device for cooling and ditioning compartment, a cooling unit mounted conditioning the air in a room comprising a in said cooling compartment, said cooling comcabinet having a passage therethrough and being partment comprising a plurality of connected horizontally disposed tubes constituting a. conduit for the circulation of a cooling medium ian compartment and a cooling'compartment, through said cooling compartment, fins secured a fan in said fan compartment for circulating to said tubes, said fins being formed with pocket room air through said cabinet and said cooling portions for the reception of moisture condensed compartment, a cooling unit mounted in said from air "circulated through said cooling compartrnent, whereby said'moisture will beat times prising aplurality of horizontally disposed tubes entrapped in said pockets for'retention adjacent connected at their ends to provide a conduit said. tubes and will be at other times re-evapofora cooling medium, frame members disposed rated and returned to the aircirculating through at the ends of said tubes to support the same,

said compartment.

9. Apparatus for modifying the temperature cabinet at an inclination to the vertical, cooling and humidity condition of room air, comprising fins mounted longitudinally of the tubes and a substantially rectilinear frame, divided into a secured in spaced relation to the top, and bottom fan compartment and a conditioning compartsides thereof, said fins being of undulated form ment, a fan mounted -in said fan compartment and having saddle portions engaging over limior circulating air through said apparatus and through said conditioning compartment, said Jecting forwardly thereof, said other portions conditioning compartment containing a heat exbeing disposed at an angle to the horizontal and change member formed with a piurality of horiforming, with said tubes and saddle portions, a zontally disposed fluid conducting tubes, said plurality'of moisture'retainirrg pockets on the tubes being provided with radiating fins, said uppermostof said fins, and means disposed befins being of undulated contour and disposed low said tubes to entrap moisture overflowing longitudinally of the tubes, said fins further being said pockets and condensing in said lower fins.

JdsEPH Asian,

formed with saddle portions'engagins over portions ofsaid tubes, whereby certain portions of cooling compartment, said cooling unit comsaid frame members being positioned in said a pted to be mounted with the passage arranged orizontally, said cabinet being divided into a I ited areas of said tubes and other portions pr'o- 

